Your prince charming awaits you!

See froggie and other mosaic transformations in booth #306 this weekend at the Indiana Artisan Marketplace.  

Bloomington's own CandyLand

Yes, the U Hauls are circling and thousands of shower curtains,  desk lamps and mini refrigerators line the shelves of Target.   Landlords have been hauling out the old and installing the new.
Bloomington residents know this signals the start of the new school year.  The on-going cycle of young, eager-to-learn, and ready-to-party students return to our bucolic B-ton.  

This year, some lucky students will be signing a lease to live in "CandyLand", one of Bloomington's most colorful rentals owned by an equally colorful and cool landlord!

He can be seen here approving the installation of his new "CandyLand" mosaic.  

Cloudy Days Upon Us

The Cloudcrest sign is finally coming together.  My first commission using Wedi, a lightweight  substrate comprised of styrofoam encased in mesh and cement.   This "wonderboard" enables mosaic artists to create large works while holding down the weight.   Hmmm...'wish it were that easy to hold down my weight....

The hand carved trout on the sign is a piece I acquired years ago from an wood worker who gave up his day job to be a missionary in South America.  I have lost contact with him, but the last I heard he was creating large scale sand sculptures on the beach in Brazil, with contributions from admirers earmarked to those in need.    The fish a little hard to part with, but the fact is it works perfectly on this piece and it's keeping with our up-cycling, re-cycling mission here in the studio.

Next step is to remove all the glass pieces, and re-lay them using thinset to insure the tiles will hold during freeze/thaw cycles the sign will be subjected to outdoors.

Grouting, sealing and more photos to follow!

July is going too fast!

We just returned from Krasl Art Fair in St. Joe, Michigan.   With perfect weather, great crowds and a double booth to show off all the pieces we've been working on, it was a good show.

Now it's back to the studio to get ready for two of our favorite shows.

The Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts, Labor Day weekend, and Penrod the following weekend.  It sounds like a long way off, but the way July has slipped by, they both will be here before I'm ready.

I'm in the process of cleaning out the studio for the first annual "Artists' Yard Sale" to take place August 21-22.  I know this will be a great sale, because artists always have the best "stuff".  More info to come, but be prepared for a great yard sale!